I know you're somewhere out there
by KatheMS
Summary: Mulder has lost Scully again... And he has said that if he finds her, he's gonna get out of her life... Will he do it?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everybody! It's been like 12 years since the last time I wrote a fanfic for The X Files, so you have no idea how excited I am to be doing this again. I'm from Colombia so English is not my first language, so I apologize if you find any mistakes here... But, to make sure that doesn't happen I asked my good friend harperrose87 to read this story that came to my mind. I think she is one of the best writers here on so ****I feel honored to have received her support**

**I hope you all enjoy this and please, leave me some feedback. Thanks :) **

… _Now they must probably really think I went mad… I guess I don't care, you were all I had and now you're not here… Like before, I'm never going to stop looking for you - but, in the meantime, it really hurts to know that you're not next to me in bed, that your scent is lost from our office… It really hurts to walk alone in life…_

_Do you hear me calling for you every night when I look to the sky and the moon, wishing I could find you up there?_

_I know you're somewhere out there, and I want to believe that you are listening to me, that someday you will answer._

_Meanwhile, I'm going to let everybody think that I've really lost my mind. Every night when I scream out your name standing by my window will be because losing you again has made me lose my mind._

_I don't care what my neighbors or my peers at work think. I don't care if it is ever only me looking for you, talking to the moon every single night, asking if you're going to come back to me._

_I know that one of these nights you are going to answer me and you're not going to be far away anymore._

"Mulder", he answered the phone.

"You're doing it again, Mulder. Your landlord called me", Skinner sighed on the other end. "One of your neighbors called him because of the noise you've been making". Mulder could hear that Skinner was obviously tired of delivering the same message every night to his agent, or what was left of him.

Skinner was met with nothing but silence on the other side of the line. What else was new? He was about to hang up the phone, like every night, when Mulder started to speak. "... I'm sorry, Walter… I'm…", Mulder couldn't keep going. There was too much inside of him. Maybe, just maybe, talking to the moon wasn't helping as much as he thought.

"I know it's a horrible, terrible time, Mulder. I don't even know how you're holding on … but I've offered you my help and you don't talk to me…"

"Maybe the moon is a better listener", Mulder said, his voice tainted with his dark humor.

Skinner exhaled. What else could he do? "Maybe", he said after a long space of silence. "I'm going to leave you to it then. But don't talk too loud, I don't think it would be a good idea that your neighbors call the cops to your apartment".

"Okay. Thanks, Walter. Really… thank you. I know you know I'm not crazy… yet".

"I know, Mulder. I'm just sorry you're going through this again, and I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to stop her from going to Oregon. This is all my fault", Skinner said sadly.

"You know I've never thought that. It's not your fault. She went there for me, and she's missing because of me, once again. I think this time, when she comes back, I'm really going to have to get out of her life so she could keep living".

"Mulder, that's-"

Mulder hung up the phone before Skinner could say anything else. He set it down on the table and returned to the window. Maybe he wouldn't shout her name again that night, but he vowed to stay there looking to the sky and the moon searching for her. He knew he wasn't mad - he was just looking for the piece of his soul that went missing that night, the same one that he heard in his dreams calling for him. He knew she was suffering; this time is different than before and he doesn't know for certain if she will come back to be herself.

The phone rung again. He was so tired of receiving sympathy from people that had no clue of what he was going through. Still, every call could have been important.

"Mulder", he said after answering, still looking to the moon.

"Hi Mulder, it's me", she said.

For a second, he thought his world would stop.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! I forgot to say before that this story was inspired by the song Talking to the moon, by Bruno Mars, I love him and his music, so if you haven't heard it, please do it, you will love it :) **

**Here is chapter two of this thing that came to my mind one day, I hope you all enjoy it. Don't forget to leave some feedback. **

"What?", he said, baffled.

Sadly, his mind was playing tricks on him. "Me, Mulder. Monica", Monica said quickly. "Are you listening to me?", she was in a hurry and he wanted to know why.

The last few months, since Scully went missing in Bellefleur, Monica Reyes had been his partner. Mulder didn't want to admit it, but she was a good agent and had been very helpful taking charge of the everyday cases on The X-Files. If he was being honest, his mind had been very far away over the last several months. He wasn't working much, only looking for her. Mulder knew he owed it to Scully, to bring her back to life and to get out of it once and for all.

"Hello, are you there?", Monica asked again.

Mulder took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm here. What's wrong?".

"I think we found her, Fox….".

"What? Where?", he immediately looked to the moon. Was the nightmare over?

"A forest, in West Virginia. A group of boys who were camping found the body and…".

The world stopped again. "Wait, what? A body?", he had started to put on his jacket and was hunting for his car keys.

"I'm sorry….", Monica whispered with a sigh. Mulder froze, tears in his eyes. Yes, his world was coming to an end. "I said it wrong…", Monica sighed. He will still - maybe there was hope. "... They thought that it was a lifeless body, but she had a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. They called the police and-".

"What hospital?", Mulder interrupted while he opened his apartment door.

"Don't worry, I'm right outside of your building", Monica assured. "I'll take you there. Come on".

Mulder made his way out of the complex, getting quickening into Monica's car. With awe, he looked at her face. She was always so upbeat, so optimistic - how could she be like that when everything was hanging in the balance? "Is it really her?", he whispered.

"I don't know, Mulder", Monica admitted gently. "Police just called me and told me what I just told you. I haven't even called AD Skinner or Missus Scully…".

"Don't", Mulder said quickly. "Don't call her yet … We have to know first if it really is her and the condition she's in".

Monica nodded, backing out of the lot and focusing on just driving. A few moments passed through thick silence, and an urge overcame Monica. She knew she just felt like doing it, so she grabbed Mulder's hand and held it tight for a while, letting him know he wasn't alone. It wasn't weird or inappropriate for either of them. Since the start of their partnership, they bonded right away. Mulder wasn't expecting it, but it just happened. She felt like a little sister to him. He didn't want it to be that way, but Monica reminded him of Samantha.

A group of policemen were inside the hospital when they arrived. Monica approached them, badge in hand as one of the officers confirmed that they brought in a woman from the forest a couple hours ago - a redhead in her mid thirties, naked, bruised and unconscious. Mulder barely kept still enough to listen to the local law enforcement's account of what they found. All he cared about was bursting through the door to Scully's room to see her. "Sir!", one of the nurses rushed after Mulder as she saw him charging toward the room. "Sir, you need to leave this area unless you are a relative of the patient!".

Mulder was livid. He wanted to kill her for keeping him from getting into the room. "I need to see her!", he demanded.

"We're the FBI agents in charge of the search for her", Monica explained to the nurse. "The patient is an FBI agent as well".

Mulder knew that wouldn't be enough for the nurse. "She's … carrying my child", he stammered, overcome with emotion. "She's my fiancée", Monica turned to look at Mulder, shocked at his words. "Is she… still... pregnant?", he whispered. He didn't know if he wanted to know the answer, but the small smile the nurse gave him brought back his hope.

"Yes, she is", the nurse replied. "Go inside, I'll go tell Dr. Lee you're here".

Before he could take one step, Monica's hand on his shoulder stopped Mulder. "Why didn't I know she was pregnant, Mulder?", she asked, not an ounce of happiness or good thoughts in her voice.

Mulder took a deep breath. He didn't want to explain himself. All he cared about was seeing Scully. His Scully. "Because I asked Skinner not to tell anyone on the FBI that. I have my reasons, Monica", he replied, not looking at her.

"And who am I, Mulder? I'm not just anyone - I'm your partner!", she argued, her voice raising.

His tone was harsher than he intended it to be. "Monica, my partner is inside that room and all I want to do right now is to see her".

He quickly turned his back on Monica, stepping through the doorway past her.

Monica backed away in surprise. She was angry at Mulder, but deep down she knew he was right. It still hurt, though. She was such a fool to think that he truly thought of her as a partner.

**I have a question. Do you want me to make longer chapters or are you ok with the lenght this two have had so far... Because, back in the day, I used to write veeeeeery long fanfics, but I don't know what do you guys would prefer. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everybody! Here's the third chapter of this story. Sorry for taking so much time to update this, but my stupid job has kept me very busy. I hope you all enjoy this and please don't kill me for this turn of events... I think, eventually, everything will come back to place.. I think.. I'm no sure yet :P Feedback is always very much appreciated :)**

"What are you doing?", Monica asked as she saw how Mulder was stepping away from the door. She was confused-he was supposed to find his happiness behind that door, the red-headed woman he loved laying on a bed, who Monica now knew was expecting his child. Why was Mulder leaving, then, if behind that door was everything he had been asking to the moon?

"Mulder", she said, louder this time. "Where are you going?", Mulder finally stopped and turned around to her, his eyes on the floor. "What's going on?", she said, trying to reach for his hand and understand what was going on his mind.

"I can't do it" he whispered.

"What? ...She's in there, Fox. You have to get in there ... You have to see the woman you love!".

Monica tilted her head and tried to see his eyes, but saw that it was just an empty body standing there. Mulder was long-gone.

"I can't, Monica. I promised Him that if He brought her back to me, I would step aside".

Mulder's eyes met Monica's and she remembered-she just never thought he would actually see it through.

Monica shook her head. "Yes, you said that. I know you promised a God you don't even believe in, but you can't keep that promise, Fox. You have to know that He's going to understand and won't punish you".

"It's not about Him punishing me, Monica! It's about me punishing her by being in her life! Don't you see what I've been doing to her all this years?", he nearly shouted, letting go of Monica's hand.

She grabbed it again. "And what about your child?", she countered, seeing him pause. "Isn't that reason enough to get into that room? Don't you think that's a gift you gave her? From what I've read in her file, she wasn't able to have kids, Fox, and you help her changed that. Are you really going to leave her alone with a miracle child?", Monica felt desperate; she was begging him to come to his senses. But when she Mulder turned back and looked her in the eye, she knew there wasn't any getting through to him.

"I'm not going to leave my child alone, Monica. I will send her money ... I don't know, there has to be a way. But I can't … I won't… get in that room. I've done too much damage".

With that, Mulder yanked his hand free and stormed away, leaving her alone in the hallway.

Monica closed her eyes; tears began to run down her face. She cried like a child, distraught over the story of two people she didn't even know that much. Still, the time spent with Mulder had taught her that their love was one of a kind, so much that he was willing to get out of Scully's life, no matter the cost.

_Scully_, she thought. She was in that room, alone, maybe awake and waiting for Mulder, but all she had its an unknown FBI agent that was about to come into her life and explain why her partner, the father of her child, wasn't there. _How am I going to do that?_ she thought to herself as she was about to open the door.

"Miss? What are you doing? You can't go in there!", a nurse interrupted, trying to block the door.

"Well", Monica said, flashing her badge, "the other agent that was here left, and right now she has nobody but me, so I have to get inside". And with that, she opened the door and closed it behind herself.

Scully wasn't awake. She was one giant bruise, purple around her face and arms, and her hair was a bit longer than what she had seen on the pictures in Mulder's office and Scully's file. She didn't look visibly pregnant-she wasn't showing any baby bump yet.

Monica didn't know what to do. With Mulder gone, she thought maybe she should call Skinner and let him take care of the situation. She thought it might be better than allowing Dana to find out the latest events from a stranger.

"Where's Mulder?", she heard a voice ask.

Monica felt like dying when she heard Scully's voice. She wasn't expecting her to wake up so soon, but there was no way out of this situation. Monica took a very deep breath and turned around to face Scully. "Who are you?" Scully asked. It looked like every word coming out of her mouth was the hardest thing to do for her.

_She shouldn't be talking_, Monica thought. She shouldn't be about to receive the awful news I have for her ... That's when it hit her: _Am I the one that should be telling Scully that Mulder isn't going to be here because he thinks she's better off without him?_

"Who are you?", Scully asked again. She was starting to sound desperate.

"I'm Monica Reyes. I'm an FBI agent. I was assigned to The X-Files to help Mulder in your search." _There... one explanation completed._

Scully nodded and immediately put her hands on her belly.

"The nurse said your baby's okay", Monica reassured her softly; she saw how Scully let out the breath she was holding. Monica assumed Scully was probably waiting to hear the worst news about her pregnancy. She would be, too. Monica didn't know the details about how they found Scully yet, but it was a miracle that she was in such a good shape, and with her baby still alive.

"Thanks for telling me. That's ... great news", Scully managed, trying to smile. Monica knew she couldn't do it completely because there was one element still missing. "... Where's Mulder?".

Monica took a deep breath again and walked closer to Scully. "He ... I'm not sure I should be the one to tell you that, Agent Scully," Monica managed to say.

"What?", Scully wore confusion all over her face. "Why isn't he here?", she demanded, raising her voice.

Monica was about to give some kind of an explanation when someone knocked on the door.

_Saved by the bell_, she thought, and rushed to open it.

It was Skinner.

_Who told him? How was he there?... Mulder..._

"Who's there?", Monica heard Scully ask behind her, knowing she was blocking her view. It was on purpose, though- she wanted to talk to her boss before Scully could see it was him.

"I'll be right back, Dana. Have some rest", Monica replied as she closed the door.

Outside and in front of her superior, knowing the close relationship he had with Mulder and Scully, she didn't have to hide her fear and sadness. "Oh my God, sir. Did Mulder call you? Did he tell you that he just left?", she asked with terror in her voice.

Skinner put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her. "Calm down, Agent Reyes" he murmured gently.

"It's not that easy, sir. She's pregnant, and they were supposed to get married, and now she's back somehow and now he's going to leave?", She wanted to stop rambling and understand, but she couldn't understand Mulder's actions.

"It's a very difficult situation, agent, but it was what he said he would do", Skinner replied.

"I know sir, but not like this. She's asking for him. I haven't been able to talk to her doctor because they won't tell me anything because I'm not her family-_he_ is. So we don't know if she is going to be able to handle hearing it!" Monica knew she wasn't being very professional, that was clear, but it was difficult to keep it together with what she had to work with.

Skinner took a deep breath, gripping Monica's shoulder a little firmer. "Call her mother, Agent Reyes", he instructed with gentle firmness. "I'll go inside. The doctor told me a few things about her condition. She's not that bad-much better than the first time she was taken".

"What did Mulder tell you? Couldn't you convince him to come back?".

"He will come back, but he has to see for himself that he's not the danger he thinks he is to her," Skinner said before slipping into Scully's room and shutting the door.

"Sir!" Scully said with grateful recognition upon his entrance.

"It's Walter now", Skinner said with a small smile, approaching her bedside. "I think we're past the whole 'boss and agent' thing". He sighed, taking her hand gently into his, minding her wounds. "I'm so happy you're back, Dana. The doctor says you're okay, that there's nothing wrong with your body, only the bruises outside ... and that the baby is healthy". He glanced down to her stomach, watching her free hand stroking it. Neither of those pieces of information were the news she wanted to hear, and he knew that.

"Where's Mulder? Why isn't he here?".

He could hear she was now thinking the worst. Has she come back to a world where there isn't a Mulder anymore? "It's not what you're thinking, Dana", he started. "He was here ... But, but... But he had to leave".

His head dropped a little. There it was, the awful, heartbreaking news. He glanced up at Scully. Skinner couldn't read the look on her face, but he thought that maybe she would have prefer to learn that Mulder was dead.

"What do you mean 'leave'? Who made him leave? What did he do to bring me back?", she said with terror in her voice.

Skinner took a deep breath. "Nobody. Nothing. Actually, we didn't even know where to look for you. All 'activity' disappear from Bellefleur just as you went missing. We were just hoping for a miracle".

She looked at her belly again. "How long has it been?".

"Not too much, as you can see from your pregnancy. Two and a half months. But for him..."

"Where's Mulder?", Scully yelled, tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry, Dana. Although it was only two months, it was too much for him, he felt incredibly guilty, as I did, he didn't do anything but look for you with the Gunmen. And then he went to your apartment and just called out for you from the window. He moved there".

"No...", she interrupted him. "We went to live together a few weeks before Billy Miles called us". She smiled ruefully. "Mulder said we should cut expenses like the FBI wanted us in the office".

Skinner couldn't clearly see her anymore through his own watery eyes. "Oh, I see", he paused. "Dana, he made a promise on one of those nights talking to the moon. He promised to God that if He brought you back, he would come out of your life."

"What?", she asked, astonished.

"He thinks that all of this is happening to you because of him, and that you deserve better..."

Skinner saw that Scully was destroyed by the news. There was too much sadness in one woman.

"What was he thinking?", she said in a whisper.

"I don't know, Dana. I'm sorry. I didn't think he would come through with the promise. I thought he would at least see you and tell you about it himself".

"You need to bring him back, Walter. I need to see him! He can't leave me alone. We're expecting a child! I'm supposed to be barren and he gave me a child! Why is he leaving now?!".

Scully's tears came more frantically and Skinner moved in to hold her as Monica walked into the room to witness the heartbreaking scene. _Mulder is crazy_, Monica thought. It must be the result of some sort of post-traumatic stress. _He is going to kill Scully of sadness with this awful decision._

"What am I going to do without him?", Scully asked in between sobs on Skinner's chest.

"He said he wouldn't leave you alone with your child, that he would provide funding," Skinner offered meagerly.

"I don't need his money!", Scully snapped. "How can he say he's the reason for all of the bad things in my life? He gave me this baby! And I made the choice to stay with him no matter what a long time ago! He's supposed to know that!", Scully couldn't understand what was going on.

This was all like a nightmare, like a bad joke. Those things Skinner said about Mulder didn't sound like him at all. She needed to talk to him. "Call him and let me talk to him. You have to do that for me", she said to Skinner.

Skinner shook his head. "I'm not sure that's a good idea".

"Not a good idea?! Do you think leaving me is?!".

"Here, call him", Monica said quickly, giving Scully her cellphone. "I'm not sure he's going to answer it, but...", she didn't even know what else to stay to Scully, so she stepped aside and watched.

"Thank you", Scully said gratefully. "I need to be alone", she added, biting her lip.

He needed to shut off the voices in his head. They weren't right. She didn't need him, he's only trouble for her. She has all that she needs right now; a baby will make her happy.

He grabbed his suitcase and started to put his clothes in there. After all, that wasn't going to be his home anymore.

They had only been together for a few months before she was taken, but in that short amount of time they had managed to have a wonderful relationship filled with things that nobody thought they would do, like that photoshoot they took to have special memories on the wall of their home.

They met a great photographer friend of Scully's friend Ellen, and they spent the day in Annapolis taking the most amazing pictures. It was so unlike them; it felt weird at first, but they quickly came to realize that there were two different "thems" - them as Mulder and Scully, and another very different them as just Dana and Fox.

Now, looking at those pictures on the wall of the room was killing him, even more than they did for the two and a half months she was missing.

He had to stick to his promise.

He grabbed one of the frames with a picture of them, sitting on a pier looking at something that wasn't on the photo, with a wide smile. He remembered very well what they were looking at: a little boy playing with a dog.

A couple of days after that photoshoot, they found out that Scully was pregnant, and two days later she was missing in Bellefleur, while he was going to D.C., going back to her, finally listening to his partner after begging him not to go back to Oregon.

But it was too late, she got desperate and went to that place where they shared their first case together and then... then the nightmare began.

He didn't listen to her, not caring about his well-being and how it would affect his unborn child, and went back anyway.

When he came back to his senses, It was too late.

The sound of his cell phone awake him from his memories.

It was Monica. He sighed; he didn't wanted to answer it, but he owed it to her with how he had been earlier.

"Mulder," he said dully.

"Mulder, it's me."

And now, it really was her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's another one, people. Thanks for reading and thanks so much to my good friend Harperrose87. I love you so much for doing this with me and for all the advices you give me... and not only about this story.**

** I hope all of you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

"What did you do, Mulder?"

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Aren't you going to say something?", she asked angrily.

More silence.

"Don't you want to see me?" she continued; she was begging him to come back. "I survived this for you, so that our child and I could come back and we could all be a family..."

She was met with more silence, but after a pause, she decided against anymore begging.

"Okay," Scully said with irritation. "I guess I just survived this for my child and for me ... I would love to see you, but I'm not going to ask you anymore. It's time for your to make up your mind."

Not even that warning made him talk.

She shook her head in disgust. "I can't believe this is you on the other side of the phone ..." She drew a deep sigh. "I'm going to pretend that one someone has you captive and won't let you speak," she decided aloud, crying, "because, Mulder, I really can't believe that you're doing this to me. You think you're helping, setting me free, but you're so very wrong!"

There was still nothing on the other end. _Is he even breathing over there?_ she thought.

"Alright, then-goodbye Mulder. I guess you'll be back to your apartment ... Good thing you kept it ..." Scully paused, swallowing hard as she wiped her tears away. "Hmm, now thinking about it, you kept it for a reason you never wanted to mention. I guess it was in case of this... in case this 'thing' between us wouldn't last, right?"

She hung up. That was the end of it. She just couldn't keep going, keep talking to him, hoping he would at least say something.

He didn't.

As soon as she ended the call on Monica's phone, Scully's mother showed up in the room, full of happy tears that her brought-to-life daughter was about to turn into tears of sorrow.

* * *

_Are you really doing the right thing? It doesn't matter anyway, because she had enough._

_She was free now, free of you and all of the madness that comes with being around you._

_Now, finish packing your things and let her be._

* * *

**Six months later**

_She looks so beautiful being pregnant. She looks even smaller with that big belly she carries __with so much pride..._

Mulder was relieved that he hadn't taken that away from Scully-the pride and joy of being pregnant with a miracle child, his miracle child, the actual reason why he stepped aside.

Not because he didn't want the baby, but because he wanted so much for his son to live a full, safe life. If he was by his son's side and working on The X-Files, Mulder knew his baby wouldn't have that, and neither will his mother.

A few weeks after the heartbreaking phone conversation, Mulder summoned the courage to call Scully and explain why he had done it-why he had left, and why was he leaving the FBI, too. He told her he wanted both of them to live, so he chose to surrender in his quest for the truth so they could be safe.

Scully said that she had understood his reasons, but Mulder hadn't believed her-she was never the same after she hung up the phone that day, and he didn't blame her.

But, in spite of all of that, there she was now, by his side in the car, grabbing her belly and trying to breathe through the contractions while he drove as fast as he sanely could to take her to the hospital. Their son was about to be born.

Although they hadn't seen each other more than a few times during her pregnancy, when her water broke, Scully's first thought was calling Mulder, the man that had brought so much joy and sadness at the same time to her life.

So many months later, she now understood that it wasn't that Mulder didn't love her, but rather that he thought what he did was the best way to keep her safe from their enemies, from them using their new relationship to their benefit.

Still, Scully didn't share that reasoning, and that was why she hadn't forgiven him yet.

That day, when she first called him from the hospital and he didn't say anything on the phone, he had ripped her heart from her chest. She imagined it inside of a jar, on a table in his apartment, where he spent nights and days looking at it, admiring it.

It was his fault that she no longer loved him anymore. He was responsible for that. Even if he did look on her heart inside the jar lovingly, wishing he could put it back in her so she could love him again, he was too late. Still, he was the father of her child, and it was the only reason she was there next to him.

"We're almost there," Mulder said, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "How are you feeling?"

"Good, I think," Scully replied, her eyes fixed ahead. "... I can take the pain."

_Of course she could take the pain of pushing a person out of her without even a tear, Mulder __thought with remorse. You turned her into a bigger Ice Queen than she was already. She's going __to be the best mother to your son-but when it comes to you, she's an iceberg. But why did she __call you if she hates you so much?_

"I don't hate you, Mulder," he heard Scully say, breaking through his thoughts.

_Now you read minds? _"I didn't say that, Dana," he replied. He loved and hated the sound of her first name. It was both comforting and painful to him.

"I still know you best," she explained, touching her belly. "And I want to make something clear now that William is finally coming to the world."

_William... That's his name, Mulder realized. It was a name he had, a name his father had ... She __has to still love me even a little bit._

"You don't have to talk about anything now, Dana," he rushed to say.

"But I want to," she insisted, pain in her voice. "This wasn't the pregnancy I thought I would have when we learned about this, but things went this way because of the decisions you made after I returned. You haven't been involved in this and I'm very sorry for that. I know you wanted to, I know you want to be a good dad ... That's why I called you earlier. But I'm not sure I'm ready to have you back in my life full time, Mulder."

"What are you saying?" he asked, turning to her. _What is she thinking?_

Her cellphone rang; she was about to answer it when he put a hand on hers. It was the only touch they had shared in six months.

"You'll answer that later," Mulder told her; He begged urgently, "Please, tell me what's going on?"

_Now you're begging, Scully thought bitterly. It hurts, doesn't it?_

"Mulder, I'm not sure I'm ready to have you in my house and around me all the time because of the baby." She winced when another contraction kicked in, but it was nothing compared to the pain of the night when Mulder turned her back on her. "Yes, William is your son, and you've always told me you're going to provide, but that's not what I really need. I need a partner, and you're not that anymore." Another sigh, another rush of pain. She kept avoiding his eyes. "... So... you can see the baby when he's born, but I need you to leave after that."

"What?!"It wasn't the best thing to say to him while he was driving. "You can't ask me that!" he yelled.

"But you could push me out of your life?!" she asked with anger, finally looking at him. _No, _she thought, eyes narrowing,_ I don't love him one bit, and it's his fault._

That was the moment when he realized his big mistake.

"Dana-" he tried.

"I've made up my mind, Mulder," she interrupted, "Just like you did six months ago!"

He was more than visibly hurt."So this is payback or something?" he asked bitterly.

"No," she replied, trying to keep calm. "This is what _you_ brought on _to yourself_." She was finding it hard to keep her cool. "You said that William and I won't be safe around you and that was the reason you left me in that hospital the night I came back after being abducted two months." She stared at him, jaw tight as she held back her tears. "Well, leave then-leave us! You took my heart already. Now I'm taking your son."

She scared him with the look she gave him. Who was this woman? What had he created six months ago? And even worse, who had he become that night talking to the moon, praying for her to come back and promising to her God that he would set her free if He would bring her back?

Who were they?

Certainly not Mulder and Scully anymore.

**Feedback, please. Thank you**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi everybody! I'm so sorry for the long wait. I hope you all enjoy this new chapter, and don't worry, there's another one coming up this same week. As always I wanna thank my good friend harperose87 for helping me with this story. I love you, girl! **

**Please, don't forget to give me some feedback. **

**Chapter 5**

_"What do you think? Should we do it?"_

_"Is that your way of proposing to me?"_

_"Why not? We're anything but ordinary, love... Our relationship has been anything but common..."_

_"That's for sure."_

_"So... Do you really want me to surprise you and get on one knee among strangers and open the small box with the big diamond inside? Maybe by the river on a night full of stars?"_

_"Yeah... Why not? You do that... and maybe I'll say yes."_

_"You'd say yes even if I didn't ask the question."_

_"Don't take me for granted—sometimes, you just have to say the words..."_

But neither one of them said the words again. Neither of them brought the subject up in conversation again.

One day he just got home with a big beautiful ring and put it on her finger, and suddenly they were engaged.

They grew together and then grew apart. Not even their son could reunite them and make them the couple they once were. He did as she asked and left them. He was brokenhearted, but it was what he brought upon himself after the decision he made, just as she told him.

She left D.C. and moved to California to start again closer to her family, far away from him.

He went to England.

They were so far from each other.

It hurt her when she found out that he had left the FBI and went across the ocean to find a new start for himself.

She couldn't deny it-she was heartbroken too. She had been for an entire year. And now, he wasn't even in the same country.

_I have his phone number. He sent it to Mom once in an email._

After finding it, she grabbed the phone and dialed the number.

"Hello?" a woman answered.

Her heart stopped.

"Hello?" the woman said again.

Scully took a deep breath. "Hello. Is Fox Mulder there?" she dared to ask.

"Yes, one minute," the woman replied. "Doctor Mulder, phone's for you," Scully overheard her say in an American accent.

_Doctor Mulder?_ Scully was intrigued. Who was he now? After all, she wasn't old Scully either. They only were their true selves when they were together-she knew that. Despite all of the horrible things she said and thought about him since the day he left, she still cared.

"Hello?" she heard him ask.

Her whole body was tremblingly. "Your son is turning one tomorrow," she replied stiffly.

In England, Mulder's heart stopped when he listened to Scully's voice-the woman he had been thinking of since he got on a plane and didn't look back.

"Scully?" he asked. He didn't doubt it was Scully, but he felt the urge to ask.

She sighed and almost smiled. It had been a year since anybody had called her by her last name. She couldn't deny it, she was happy to be talking to him.

"Yes, it's me, Mulder," she assured him. All the anger she held toward him was in the past. He couldn't be that far away; she wanted him back.

"Why are you calling me?" Mulder asked quietly. "I'm just … surprised to hear from you. I know William's birthday is tomorrow. I think of him everyday. Your mother sent me pictures. He's so big and just perfect." His tone grew in excitement. It was Scully on the other end of the line!

"I didn't know she did that. I'm not surprised, though."

Silence lingered between them for a long moment.

"Why are you calling, Dana?"

"I guess I just wanted to remind you of Will's birthday ... but now I see it wasn't necessary," she murmured. She immediately regretted the impulse she had acted on. She couldn't be weak, not in front of him!

"I miss you too, love," Mulder replied like it had only been a couple of days, instead of an entire year, since they saw each other.

A tear went down her face. She needed him back. But he was so far away and obviously in a new life. "Why did you leave to England?" she asked.

He sighed. "I thought that the bigger the distance, the easiest for me to forget you. But it's been impossible to do so, Dana. I just can't. Did you have any luck?"

She smiled at his question—it was so like him. Again, she was ashamed. She had kicked him out of her life, and now she just wanted him back, just because ... She didn't deserve that.

But she couldn't lie to herself; she would open up her heart and let him decide.

"No," she admitted. "…You should be here with us," she added after a pause. She knew it really was her heart speaking.

"I know I should. But there's too much damage done, to you and to me," he answered.

She didn't expect that, but it was the truth. She tried so hard to hold back her tears. "You're right. But we can heal together. Your son needs you ... I need you. Please ... I'm so sorry I punished you by forcing you to be away from your son a whole year." She couldn't help the tears that fell.

"But you were right when you made me step aside. I wanted to leave you alone, anyway. I needed a taste of my own medicine."

"Well, I think you've had enough."

Suddenly, the sound of a crying baby filled her ears, but it wasn't William. The baby was crying on the other end of the line.

_Mulder and a baby? What's going on?_

"I have to go, Dana..." Mulder said in a hurry.

"What?" she asked, bewildered, the question slipping out.

"Sorry... Um..." Mulder didn't know how to end the conversation. "Can I call tomorrow? William could listen to my voice, at least."

Something was definitely going on, Scully thought. But how could she say no to that desperate request? "Sure, you can call us," she replied hesitantly. "I guess my mother sent you our number," she added, miffed from how their conversation was ending.

William's cries interrupted her thoughts, though.

"Oh! He's crying," Mulder said.

"Yes, he was taking a nap … I guess he's upset because I'm not around. Do you want to speak to him now?" She smiled at the idea.

But the baby on Mulder's side of the line was obviously younger than William, because the crying was more intense. It reminded her when her son was two or three months old and kept waking up three or four times a night.

"I would love too, love..."

_There's that word again._ Hearing that word from his lips could just melt her heart.

"...but I can't right now. I'll call tomorrow, I promise," Mulder assured. "I'll explain tomorrow why there's a baby with me. Don't think the worst, please. My heart has always been with you. Even if yours is not with mine anymore."

"It is," she recognized.

_I love you,_ she wanted to say, but she wasn't entirely sure if that was true just yet, because he had hurt her-a lot.

So, with a simple goodbye and a promise of an upcoming call, they hung up the phone.

Scully went into her son's room and picked him up from his crib. He was already waiting for her with a big smile and standing up.

_Soon he will be trying to get out of the crib, _she mused_. _

"Hi baby!" she greeted him. "I was talking to your daddy. He's going to call you tomorrow to say happy birthday." William looked at her as if he understood what she was saying and was sharing his happiness. "I think daddy's going to come back, baby … and we'll be a family again."

But across the world, in a dark house, somewhere in England, Mulder wasn't so sure of it. He had a responsibility to the little baby girl he was holding, now trying to calm her down.

The baby had never met her mother, but every time she cried, Mulder felt it was as if she was missing her, missing the love and comfort that only a mother could give to a child.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to take her, Dr. Mulder," the nanny apologized as she came to the room.

"It's okay, Christina. It was my turn anyway," he replied, watching the baby drink from her bottle.

"Yes, but you were on the phone," the nanny insisted while she fixed the sheets in the baby's crib. "Who was that, by the way? Calling this late. Is everything okay?" She turned to look at him; Mulder took a deep breath.

"It was ... the mother of my child, my son," Mulder replied.

"Oh. I didn't know you have a son, Dr. Mulder," Christina said, looking down, ashamed of her earlier question.

"Yes, I do. His name is William. He will be one tomorrow." Mulder gave the baby girl to Christina.

"Are you going to go visit him?" she dared to ask as she took the child.

Mulder was just about to leave the room, and turned around to look at the twenty-five year-old girl, bending down to kiss the back of the baby's head. "I should, but I'd have to figure out how to do that now that I have Sophia."

"Well, I think you should go. I can stay here with Sophia..." Christina said with a smile.

"I couldn't leave you alone, Christina," Mulder replied, leaving the room. "I would be going to the States."

"Don't you trust me?" Christina asked all of the sudden; Mulder turned to her. "Haven't I earn your trust in these last five months since Ms. Green died?"

"Of course you have, Christina. But it's more complicated than that."

"Well ... Just think about it. I didn't know you had a child until a few minutes ago, but now I understand why you have been taking such good care of this baby-because you need your son. So go on and be with him, at least for a few days. Think about it."

"I will," he replied and left the room.

It wasn't as easy to him as Christina said. He has a baby now-Phoebe Green's child-and he promised to her on her grave that he would take care of her as if she was his own. And leaving everything in England, taking the baby and his nanny, and starting all over again in the US wasn't as easy.

He wasn't lying before. He and Scully had done too much damage to each other. A simple phone call won't solve all of that.

Still, he would think about it, because the truth was that he wanted to see William again. He was already a father to Sophia, but he wanted to be one as well to the miracle he helped to bring into the world.

**Feedback please. Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**As always, thanks to harperrose87 for helping me with this**

**Chapter six**

"I talked to Mulder yesterday," Scully said suddenly in the middle of breakfast the next day. Her mother almost choked with the news.

"What? How?" Maggie asked. "Isn't he...?"

"In England? Yes, that's where he is," Scully replied, feeding William. "He said he'd call today, to speak to Will."

"And? What else did you talk about?" Maggie couldn't hide her excitement.

"Well, he said he misses me, that he went to England to forget about me, but couldn't, and I asked him to come back."

"What?! And ... Is he?" Maggie looked like a school girl, excited about a friend who was going to prom with her crush.

"I don't know ... I'm not sure, mom. I think I lost him...", Scully wanted to cry, but she promised herself she wouldn't-not again, and not in front of her son. "I heard a baby crying while we talked and he said goodbye all of the sudden..." she added; Maggie's expression changed.

"Oh... Do you think...?"

"That he met someone else and already had a baby with that person? No, I don't think he had the time to do that. But he definitely has a life there, and he doesn't want to let go of it to come back here for nothing."

"Nothing? What about you and Will?"

"It's not the same, Mom. We're not the same. Because of me, because of the both of us. He said there's too much damage done, and he's right. But I want him back ... I just don't deserve him anymore." Scully lowered her eyes; William's little hand on hers startled her up from her sadness. She saw Mulder's smile on her little boy. She needed to accept the fact that William was all she had of Mulder left.

The phone rang and both women looked to it; neither stood to pick it up.

"You're not expecting Will to answer it himself, right?" Maggie asked with a small smile.

"No... but we don't know if it is him. Could you get that?" Scully both did and didn't want to talk to Mulder-she was a mess.

"No, you do it. Look at the caller ID—if it's a foreign phone number, it has to be him." Maggie stood up, heading toward the exit. "I'm going to go take a shower," she added before she left.

"Hello?" Scully said, answering.

"Hi Dana, it's me," Mulder said.

"Hi. Oh, by the way, I'm sorry I called you so late yesterday ... I forgot about the time."

"It's okay. I was up anyway," he assured, Sophia in his arms.

"I didn't mean to wake up the baby," Scully added, just to bring up the subject of the baby.

He sighed. He knew she would do that.

"She's Phoebe Green's child. Remember Phoebe?" he finally asked.

_Of course I remember her! What the hell are you doing with her baby?! _"Yes, I do. Are you living with her?" Scully asked; she wanted to cry. She didn't expect any of this.

"I was. Now I'm living in her house, with her daughter and a nanny."

"Where's Phoebe?" Scully immediately found herself thinking the worst of the woman; she tried not to think about how if Mulder went straight to Phoebe's home when he got to England, then he had been in contact with Phoebe while he still was in DC living with her.

" ... She died, Dana. When she was having Sophia, five months ago. It was a risky pregnancy and a terrible delivery, and ... she died." He hurt for Sophia's loss once again, just like every time he remembered that horrible day.

Scully's eyes filled with tears. She didn't care about the woman, but to hear what had happened to her and her little girl broke her heart. "I'm so sorry."

"Thank you. It's been very difficult, but I don't know what would had happen to the baby if I wasn't her. Phoebe didn't have any family..."

"And the baby's father?" Scully asked.

"It was a fertility treatment. Phoebe was having her baby alone. I didn't know any of that when I left Washington."

Scully heard Sophia starting to cry, and couldn't hold her tears anymore.

"Christina!" she hear Mulder calling.

"Yes?" she heard Christina reply. _She must be the nanny, the woman who answered the phone yesterday._

"She's hungry, will you feed her while I talk on the phone?"

"Sure."

"Hi, I'm back," Mulder said to Scully after a moment.

"I'm so sorry, Mulder," she repeated. This past year hadn't been easy for either of them, and now she felt sorry for all of the horrible things she thought about Mulder during the beginning.

"We're better now. I found an angel in Christina and the adoption process is going great," Mulder said.

_What?!_ Scully thought. "You're adopting the baby?"

"I have to, Dana. Otherwise, I would have to give her away. She's not my daughter or my relative at all. Adoption is the only way..."

"Of course." Was she angry?

"I get that you don't understand this, but Dana, I never thought I'd speak with you, and I couldn't leave this baby alone," Mulder explained desperately.

"No, I understand. I'm just ... It's just a lot to take in. But you're right. You're doing the right thing."

She carried Will to his playpen in the living room, moving to the balcony of the apartment she shared with her mom.

"I am. But, I want to help you with William. You've never let me. I always ask your mother, but-"

"William's okay. He doesn't need anything from you."

He heard it rear its ugly head again, that hostility from her—the same darkness he heard on the night his son was born. "Dana," he whispered desperately, "don't talk like that, please. I love you-I've never stop loving you." There, he said it. "Don't punish me now for not wanting to leave a baby alone in the world."

He was right, and she knew it. "I'm not punishing you," she defended. "I'm just mad at myself, I guess ... This whole year, I've regretted my decision because William needs his father, and learning that you have been a father to a little girl that isn't yours, I don't know... it makes me see the mistake I made. And how blinded with hatred I was when I said those horrible things in your car." She sniffled as she began to cry.

"Don't cry, love," he begged, trying to soothe her. "Please don't. You were right in that moment-we both made mistakes, but that is in the past now."

"Yes," she agreed, looking at William playing, "that may be true, but anyway you're not going to come back, and that is my fault. Our son will never have his father next to him because of my decision."

"That's not true. I could go there, he could come here ... He has a sister now ..."

She laughed between tears. "Yeah, he does. And I'm sure you will be a great father to him, like you have been to your baby girl. But what about me? Us? I need you too, don't you need me?"

"I do. But what I said yesterday is not a lie-there's too much damage done, love."

_Deep breath, _she coached herself_. _"Why 'love'? Why call me that and not 'honeybunch,' 'poopyhead,' or something silly like that?" she asked.

He smiled at her question. "Because you are the definition of love to me, Dana. There's no other pet name I could call you but that one. You are my love-you are-you've always been. But I wasn't yours for so much time. You hated me throughout your entire pregnancy, you wanted to make me suffer, and you did..."

"And now you're going to make me suffer?"

"It's not about that, Dana. I just don't think I can be a part of your life right now because you hated me so very much, I felt it everyday during those six months after you came back-you don't love me, you couldn't. And now, you just miss me, and want William to have a father. And he has me, know that, please... But you don't need me, you still hate me, and I don't think I should be around once you realize that again." He was afraid of her reaction to his words, but he knew he had to say them.

"I don't hate you, at least, I don't feel I do. But I can't make you feel my love for you if you're so determined to see hate in me towards you." She sighed. "Anyway, I think it's time for you to speak to Will now..."

There it was. He felt it hit him hard. His stomach sank.

He lost her all over again.

**Feedback, please...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to my dear friend Harperrose87 for her help with this chapter. **

**I hope you all enjoy it, and if you don't, please let me know... I could use some advice with this story :) **

* * *

**Chapter 7**

There was one good thing about Mulder leaving Scully—he gave her a friend. A very good one, almost a sister.

That night in the hospital, when Scully returned from her abduction and found out about Mulder's decision, wasn't the last time she saw Monica. They became good friends. There were a lot of nights during Scully's pregnancy when Monica drove to the former FBI agent's apartment to just be with her while she cried over the loss of her partner.

After Scully made the decision to move in with her mother to California, the distance didn't separate them. Whenever Monica had a chance, she would travel to San Diego, like right now.

When Mulder and Scully left the FBI, Agent Reyes became the head of The X-Files, working with a new partner, and old friend of hers: John Doggett.

Both she and Doggett had been working on a case in a small Californian town, so after it was wrapped up, Monica decided to go to San Diego to see Scully. Doggett tagged along—he had some old friends in the area that he could catch up with too, he had said.

Doggett knew about Mulder and Scully. To him, Scully seemed like a character from a book. She seemed fictional after reading the X-Files archives and hearing all the stories about her from Monica.

"So, those are the latest details of my sad love story," Scully sighed, stopping in front of her apartment building. She gripped the stroller a tired William was sitting in, spent from time at a nearby park with her and Monica.

"Don't call it that, Dana," Monica encouraged, glancing over at Doggett while he waited in a parked car. "At least you talked to him."

Scully waved to Doggett, receiving a wave from him in return. "Yeah, but like two weeks ago. And after that, whenever he calls Will, I'm not in the apartment and it's my mom who talks to him. It's like he's avoiding me." She frowned. "I can't believe he said I still hate him. I don't feel that Monica, I really don't."

"I think you never hated him, sweetie. And he doesn't hate you now, so please don't ever think that. Besides, you're complaining, but the truth is that you're expecting for him to call. Why don't you call? From what you told me, you were the one who got all rude on the conversation."

"I'm too scared to do that, Mon."

William started to cry. Scully knew he really needed his nap, and that it was time to say goodbye.

"Are you sure you and Doggett can't come inside?" Scully asked, not wanting to let go of her friend again. She grinned. "Tell him I don't bite, you know. He never approaches to me. What have you been saying about me?"

Monica smiled. "Nothing! He's just shy, I don't know, you're like a celebrity to him or something." She laughed. "But now seriously, Dana, call Mulder. You're here complaining to me—maybe he's over there complaining to some friend." She shrugged. "There's always the excuse of William," she added, taking a look at the pretty baby yawning.

"I'll think about it.. And I'm going to miss you so much, Mon. Really. Thanks for coming after that awful case you had."

Both women hugged, each grateful for the other friend.

"Thanks for the help with it, by the way," Monica said. "You should consider returning to the bureau, you know."

Scully sighed. "Don't start with that Mon. I'm perfectly fine where I am working. I can always help you whenever you're in need." She widened her grin. "And I promise I'll think about calling him."

The two friend share another hug and a kiss on the cheek. Monica stooped down to give a kiss to baby William and then got in the car. Doggett gave Scully another wave before he pulled away, Scully watching them leave.

The street got so very lonely all of a sudden, and Scully felt the urge to step into her building as quickly as possible. It felt as if someone was watching her. Sometimes she got those feelings—the ones she used to have working on The X Files. Always feeling that there was always somebody on her back, watching her every move, waiting for a chance to hurt her, to eliminate her.

She didn't know why she was feeling like that right now. Since Mulder's decision to leave, she knew there was no danger around her and her son.

He watched her climb the stairs, holding the stroller with William in it. For a moment he had the urged to come out of his hiding place and help her, but he stopped himself when he remembered the small detail that he wasn't supposed to be there. He smiled to himself looking at her playing the mother role so perfectly, so naturally. She was happy, despite what he had done to her in the past.

As soon as Scully closed the building door, Mulder got out from behind the tree where he was hiding. Mulder had been in the US for ten days now in secret. Once he found them, he had basically followed Scully and his son. He had left Christina and Sophia in England, which wasn't a good idea since he was in the middle of an adoption process. But he had to do it—he had to go back to her and try to heal things with her, just like she had suggested in their conversation two weeks ago.

The thing was that he hadn't the courage to actually approach to her, not even to talk to her on the phone. He knew when she wasn't at the apartment, and he took advantage of those moments to call Maggie and "talk" to William, one time he almost confessed to the woman that he was in San Diego, but he didn't. He thought it was best if she didn't lie to her daughter.

Seeing Monica in San Diego visiting Scully had been a surprise to him, but he was glad to know that they remain close friends. He knew how much the agent had done for Scully during her pregnancy, when he wasn't around. When Scully didn't want him around.

He walked a little bit more to where his car was parked, got in and drove to his hotel. Once there, he tossed his rental car keys on the bureau and flopped down on the bed in exhaustion and frustration.

His phone rang. He knew it must have been Christina so he could say good night to Sophia.

"Hello, Christina," he answered.

"Hi, Doctor Mulder. How's everything?" she asked.

"Good. How are you guys? How's Sophia?"

"Good. She already ate, and is ready to sleep. We had a visitor today," she added with a bit of fear in her voice.

He sprang up from the bed. "What? Who?"

"It was the lady from the adoption office, she just wanted to check on me I guess…"

"Hmm. You know, I explained to them why I needed to come to the States, and gave them your credentials—maybe they wanted to check how safe Sophia is. Did she say anything important?" he asked, sitting again on the bed.

"Not really," Christina answered. "She just asked when are you coming home."

That is an answer I don't have, Mulder thought.

"Well," he replied, "according to my plane ticket, I should return next week, but..."

"You haven't talked to Miss Scully yet?" Christina asked, surprised. "What are you doing there then?!"

"Don't talk to me like that, Christina," he demanded.

"I'm sorry, sir," she murmured.

"If that woman comes to the house again," Mulder instructed, "tell her I will be in there next Friday, as I told her in the letter. Now, put Sophia on the phone."

Christina obeyed.

* * *

Today is the day, Scully thought. She woke up that morning with the idea in her head. Today, she would call Mulder.

She knew he thought that she hated him, but that was okay. Maybe in some way she does. But the important thing, and what she would say to him, is that she was willing to leave those feelings aside, to understand his decision, and to, basically stop being a bitch like the one she knew she'd been.

With the phone in her hand, her mother at the store, and William playing contently in his crib, she was ready to do it.

"Hello?"

Again, it was the woman's voice Scully heard from before. Christina, was it?

"Christina, right?" Scully asked. She wanted to play nice from the start.

"Mmmm, who's asking?"

A cautious girl, Scully thought. "I'm sorry, it's Dana Scully ... Fox's..." Fox's what? What was she gonna say.

"Oh right! I'm sorry. Yes, I'm Christina. You're William's mother."

"Yes, I am. Hi. Is Mulder home?"

There. That question. Well, Christina had her orders.

"No, ma'am, I'm sorry. He's not. But I could give you his cellphone number, is that okay?"

"Sure. Thanks".

* * *

Today was the day. He knew she didn't have to work that morning. She was probably alone in the apartment right now—he should take that opportunity and let her know that he is there, in the same city. He was ready to get back to her life, to be a father to their son, a partner once again to her, and stop being the jerk he knew he'd been from the moment he decided to leave her because, according to him, she was better off without him.

He got out of the car. He was parked right in front of her apartment building and started to climb up the stairs. He suddenly stopped feeling nervous and insecure about his decision. He knew it was the right choice.

Two school girls were leaving the building and left the door wide open to him. That was a good sign, right? The universe was inviting him to stopped messing around with his good fortune—the one he had about two years ago before her abduction—and started to do things correctly.

Hers was the second apartment in the third floor, for what he had seen all those days right outside of the building. There he was, right in front of her door. Ready to knock, when his cellphone started to ring. Was that a sign too? A bad one?

* * *

He wasn't picking up his phone. Where could he be? Was he actually avoiding her? It looked like that. She felt so sad. Being a bitch to him for almost two years hadn't done any good to her. It was now that she realized...

Wait. Who's out there in the hall? she thought to herself, again with that awful feeling of being followed. There was somebody out side of her door, she could tell from the shadow on the floor. And there was a cellphone ringing just outside her door too.

"Who's there?" she asked and shut down the phone. A hand went to her back, around her waist.

What are you looking for? You haven't had a gun for almost two years, remember?

"I know there's someone there. Tell me who you are or I'll call the police," she warned, getting closer to the door, ready to open it.

"It's me."

That voice. That voice and not on the other end of the phone. His voice, right in the hall. Was she imagining this?

"Mulder?" she asked while she opened the door.

And yes, there he was. And yes, there she was, finally, right in front of him. How could this be?

He tried to smile, but she couldn't. She was so in shock she forgot how to. And, apparently, how to speak.

Mulder was just as stunned at the sight of Scully. "Hi. Surprise, I guess."

**Feedback and... help please! ;)**


End file.
